The Office of the President of the Republic of Finland has reduced its carbon footprint by 55.4%. The reference year is 2016, when the Office renewed its environmental plan and committed itself to the objectives outlined in the Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development. The biggest reductions were achieved in the emissions from purchased energy, as the Office’s all premises shifted to using electricity, district heating and cooling produced from renewable energy sources.
The Office set as its target to reduce its carbon footprint to less than one third at the initiative of President Sauli Niinistö in 2018. The deadline for achieving the target was set at the end of his presidential term in February 2024. The aim was to reduce the Office’s emissions not only in total, but also in all areas of operations. President Niinistö has stressed that it is necessary to take action at every level to combat climate change.
The Office’s greenhouse gas emissions have been calculated on an annual basis. The emission reduction target was reached in 2018 and 2020–2022, when, at their highest, the Office’s total emissions fell by more than 80 per cent compared to 2016. However, due to the global political situation, air travel increased especially in 2023, which contributed to increased emissions. In addition, not much air travel was made during the coronavirus pandemic, and some of the journeys planned for 2020–2021 were postponed until the end of the presidential term.
Other measures taken by the President’s Office to reduce emissions have included favouring scheduled flights without stopovers, increasing remote meetings and negotiations, lowering temperatures in buildings, increasing recycling and switching to LED lamps in lighting. Local food, organic products and other products with a minimum environmental impact have been favoured when serving food in any events arranged by the Office. Food waste has also been minimised.
In accordance with the Office’s vehicle renewal plan, when replacing vehicles, priority is given to vehicles powered by renewable energy. The Office currently has one electric car and two plug-in hybrids at its disposal. As a rule, renewable diesel has been used as fuel in diesel-powered vehicles.
At the summer residence Kultaranta, emissions from own energy production decreased thanks to the installation of heat pumps. The electric gardening equipment are currently recharged with solar panels. Attention will also be paid to reducing the carbon footprint in the renovation projects of the Kultaranta and Mäntyniemi residences as regards, for example, energy efficiency.
Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the President’s Office accounted for only 3% of total emissions. Of the emissions, 97 per cent were other indirect emissions from the activities of the Office. In 2023, business travel was clearly the largest source of the Office’s emissions, representing 85% of the emissions. The share of lifecycle emissions from fuels and energy was 8%.
The carbon footprint reduction involved the entire organisation of the Office of the President of the Republic of Finland at the Presidential Palace, Mäntyniemi and Kultaranta.
The carbon footprint was calculated in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. The emission calculation tool used was the organisation-specific calculator of the OpenCO2.net carbon footprint platform.